Over 2500 Websites Using Cryptojacking As A Source Of Revenue

Cryptojacking is something new which has been popularized by ThePirateBay and a few other larger websites. Basically these sites use a Javascript-based crypto-currency miner hidden in the webpage which uses your CPU to mine crypto-currency. This has brought up the debate that this could be the revenue model of the future, which would replace advertising or paid subscriptions.

Now some people are ok with this form of revenue for websites as long as they are aware it is going on. So say a choice between seeing ads or running the miner. Many others are completely against the idea as heavy browsing could slow down their computer and have an impact on electricity bills.

According to a report by ArsTechnica there could be a least 2500 websites out there running embedded crypto-currency miners that are hidden from users. Independent cybersecurity researcher, Willem de Groot told Ars that he estimates JS miners may have proliferated to 2496 websites, and its adoption is on the rise. Coinhive seems to be in the middle of the controversy as they sell easy-to-integrate crypto-currency miners that can be embedded into websites as a source of revenue.

As of writing neither Google or Mozilla have come up with any type of anti-miner blocking or warnings in their browsers. The Ad Block Plus browser extension has introduced a feature that disables scripts that exhibit this type of behavior. Anti-virus software vendors like McAfee and Kaspersky have set out to identify and block sites with embedded miners.

About 10 years of computer experience. Been messing around with electronics since I was 5, got into computers when I was in highschool, been modding them ever since then. Very interested in how things work and their design.